Intermittent Fasting Under Fire: New Study Links Diet Trend to Heart Risk

A new large-scale study is challenging the popular health trend of intermittent fasting, revealing that those who restrict their eating to an eight-hour window each day face a 135% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who eat over a 12–14-hour span. While intermittent fasting has been linked to weight loss and metabolic benefits in short-term studies, this long-term research—tracking over 19,000 American adults for eight years—suggests serious heart health risks, particularly for smokers and individuals with diabetes or existing heart conditions. Though the study doesn’t establish direct causation, experts caution that the timing of meals may not be as crucial as once thought, and personalized dietary guidance based on individual health status is key.